Fire-escape



(No Model.)

' J. E. POST.

FIRE ESGAPE.

Patented June 24, 1884.

a I fiveni'onf I E 4/ NITED STATES PATENT Fries.

JAMES EDXVARD'POST, OF POUGHKEEPSIE, NEWV YORK.

FIRE-ESCAPE;

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 300,797, dated June 24, 1884.

Application filed June 11, 1883.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JAMES EDWARD Posr, a resident of the city of Poughkeepsie, in the county of Dutchess and State of New York, and a citizen of the United States of America, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Fire-Escapes, of which the following is a specification.

The invention relates to stopping the operation of fire-escape mechanism and the reoperation thereof at will by the escaping party at anystage of his or her descent from a burning building, and to the entire suspension of said operation, and to the automatic supporting of the escaping party in the air by the said mechanism at any stage of his descent until he or. she sets it again in operation.

I11 theaccompanying drawings, in which similar letters of reference indicate like parts, Figure 3 is a perspective of a device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail View of the lever with its terminal cam and lateral cam, and bracket-lever for operating the device. Fig. l'is a longitudinal sectional view of the tube A, showing how the rope I extends through its perforation, and how the cam F indents said rope, and how the lateral cam G' deflects said rope into the recess in the interior of said tube when the said rope is relieved from the pressure of said cam F.

Upon the tube A, near its lower end, are two juxtaposed longitudinal brackets, D, cast thereto, which serve as bearings of a shaft, K, firmly and tightly mounted therein. Between these bearings the tube A is slotted with a longitudinal slot, S, as wide as the diameter of the perforation of the tube A,which is of sufficient diameter to admit the passage through it of a cord or rope, I, of the required strength to safely operate the device, and from the said brackets D the said slot S is extended about three-quarters of an inch upward in said tube A. A curved recess, G, is made in the perforation of the tube A opposite to the lobe of the lateral cam G, so as to increase the friction between the lateral cam G and the rope I when this cam G is forced against the rope I. On the side of the tube A opposite to the said brackets D is cast thereto an ear or bracket, B, with an orifice, B, through the (No model.)

of about the same length as the tube A. Its

lower end terminates with a cam, F, cast thereto, with an axle-orifice, D, through the same at its junction with the said lever, as

shown in Fig. 1. On the side of said lever opposite to the axle-orifice D of said cam F is cast thereto a bracket-lever, E, with an orifice, E, through the center thereof strong enough to support the weight, and for the purpose of supporting the weight of at least the body of oneman seated in a seat suspended therefrom, or suspended in any manner therefrom. At a point on said lever O opposite to the upper part of said slot S, when said lever is loosely mounted on said shaft K, is cast thereto a lateral cam, G, of such dimensions as to move freely outwardly and inwardly in the upper part of said slot S, and of such length as to be impinged upon and pressed against the said cord or rope I more or less strongly by the hand and at the will of the escaping party, for the purpose of graduating the speed of his descent. The lever O at the axle or'ifice D is loosely mounted on said shaft K between said brackets D in such manner that when an cscaping party is suspended in the sling or seat suspended from said ear or bracket B and said bracket-lever E, or otherwise suspended th erefrom, the lobe of the cam F is thereby so firmly pressed against said cord or rope I that the descent of the escaping party is wholly suspended until, for the purpose of descending, he voluntarily clasps the said lever 0, together with said tube A, with his hand, and thereby forces the lever toward the tube, thereby relieving the pressure of the cam F upon the cord or rope I, and at the same time thereby pressing the lateral cam G upon the said rope I, so as to graduate the descent, and for the purpose of graduating the speed of his descent at will. One end of the sling or seat J is firmly attached to the said ear or bracket B, and the other end thereof is firmly attached to the bracket-lever E; and when the escaping party is suspended in said sling or seat the said device is brought directly in front of his breast,

and is strong enough to suspend the weight of his body for the purpose of lowering it to the ground when he operates the device. The said cord or rope I, near its upper end, is passed through the tube A, and is long enough to extend from the room in the building from which the device is operated to the ground, and of sufficient tensile strength to suspend the weight of the body of at least one man.

The operation of the device is as follows: The escaping party fastens the upper end of said rope to any object in said room which is strong enough to suspend his weight when suspended in said sling or seat, or suspended by said sling or seat J and descending by said device. He then seats himself on the windowsill while placing himself in said sling or seat. He then, when placed in said sling or seat, as above described, swings himself free from the building, and remains suspended in the air until he elasps said lever O and said tube A with his hand, and, by tightening his grasp, thereby forces the lever toward the tube, and

thereby relieves the rope I from the pressure of the cam F, and thereby presses the lateral cam G against the rope I with suflicient force to graduate by the friction thereof thespeed of his descent to the ground.

What I claim, and desire to obtain Letters Patent for, is-

1. The combination of the lever G with the cam F and the lateral cam G, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the bracket-lever E with the lever G, and with the cam F, and with the ear or bracket B, substantially as above described, and for the purposes described.

3. The combination of the juxtaposed brack ets D with the shaft K, and with the lever C, and with the cam F, and with the ear or bracket B, and with the lateral cam G and the rope I and sling-seat J, as above described, and for the purposes set forth.

JAMES EDWARD POST.

Witnesses:

MICHAEL .T. LAWLOR, ERASTUS M. VAIL. 

